Still a ways to go ...

Thursday

Dec 13, 2012 at 3:15 AM

“Pink is the new power color in New Hampshire.”

-- U.S. Rep.-Elect

Ann McLaine Kuster

While Foster’s Daily Democrat did not endorse the election of some of New Hampshire’s recently minted all-female congressional delegation, we look forward to following their progress in Washington, and in the Statehouse with incoming Gov. Maggie Hassan.

For those of post-World War II generations, it has taken too long for those of the opposite sex to be recognized for their skills and talents.

As the war enveloped the nation, Rosie the Riveters from coast to coast filled the void in factories as men when went off to fight. Unfortunately, when husbands, brothers and uncles returned home, the women in their lives were expected to return to the kitchen.

Today much has changed to the good, as witnessed by the country’s first all-female congressional delegation.

This does not mean much progress is yet made.

It was a point made by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen during a recent forum held at St. Anselm College in Manchester. The meeting celebrated the state’s all-female congressional delegation, according to the Union Leader newspaper, and the fact that women now hold leadership positions in all three branches of state government — as governor-elect, Speaker of the House and chief justice of the state Supreme Court.

Shaheen reminded those attending that equality remains elusive. “Even though we’ve elected a number of women in New Hampshire to lead the state, the fact is doors are still not open for all women, and part of what we’ve got to do is make sure the doors are open for all women, for everybody, so people have the same access to opportunity in New Hampshire and the country.”

Even when the full delegation is seated in January and Hassan sworn in, the United States will most likely still rank 69th or thereabouts among countries with the highest percentage of women in government.

It is a trend all too pervasive outside of government, as Shaheen implied.

In corporate boardrooms, women make up 3 percent of CEOs and occupy around 16 percent board seats (up 0.5 percent from 2009) at the nation’s Fortune 500 companies, and 15.2 percent of the directors at the largest companies are women, according to Linda Tarr-Whelan, author of “Women Lead the Way.”

As reported by The New York Times, science professors at American universities widely regard female undergraduates as less competent than male students with the same accomplishments and skills, a new study by researchers at Yale University concluded.

And in the U.S. military, women are still technically prohibited from combat, despite sitting at the controls of multimillion dollar fighters and having given their lives in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Of course, the election of an all-woman delegation cannot be expected to change things overnight. Additionally, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter and U.S. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster were not elected solely based on women’s issues, although polls indicate that may have played a part.

But the balance this group will bring, especially to the traditional male bastion of Washington, D.C., is something to which we look forward.